The Little Ones
by Quasimagical
Summary: An ongoing, slice-of-life compilation of shorts and drabbles featuring my three little ClayNami babs and their silly adventures growing up at Jade Mountain. Will contain ClayNami and enough cute to drown Pyrrhia. Don't like, don't read.
1. The Little Ones

A little SandWing hybrid voiced half-feigned impatience as she traced a claw ever so lightly over one of the blue-and-brown eggs she was nestled close to.

"These three are in for the best lives ever when their hatching day is finally here. We're going to take such good care of them, and take them on adventures...and they'll get to go to school right here with us! Ohh, I wish it was soon! I wish it was _now,"_ she said.

"It _will_ be soon," her large, mud-hued friend insisted beside her, despite the many, many months that still awaited them. Clay let out a deep, yet wistful sigh before he continued, "But I know the feeling. I don't think I've ever been more excited for anything."

Sunny beamed. "Me neither! I'm practically vibrating and they're not even mine." She looked back down to the eggs and then suddenly lowered herself to nuzzle them again. "We should tell them about her."

"Can they really hear us?" the MudWing blinked curiously.

"I think so," Sunny answered confidently. "Or at least, I've heard noises from eggs before. If we can hear them, then surely they can hear us too. Right?"

Clay tilted his head slightly. "Hmm. That _does_ make sense."

"Well then," the golden dragon paused for a moment, glancing down at the egg she'd wrapped her arms around before she looked back up at her friend with a warm and knowing smile. "Do you want to go first?"

The MudWing blushed, quickly averting his eyes as he shifted a bit and gave a soft laugh. "I...yeah...okay." Taking another breath, he turned his attention back to the three eggs.

For a moment, Clay felt stuck in his thoughts, with all the wonderful things he wanted to say about his mate, except the exact words he wanted to convey them with. He was brimming with joy and excitement, and yet, it seemed those very emotions had left him a bit speechless. Talking to his eggs was something that should be easy. Truthfully, he didn't want to come off as _too_ excited...despite the fact that he absolutely was. He was going to be a father in less than a year. He was going to have three perfect little dragonets, of his very own, who would never have to grow up without sunlight, or mud, or the ocean, or parents who truly loved them. It was almost overwhelmingly beautiful to think about.

Just like her.

Clay suddenly smiled, and lowered himself down to curl around the eggs as he gently pulled them all close. He inhaled contentedly, and sighed his next words. "You're gonna love her. You guys have the best and bravest mom in all of Pyrrhia, and you're gonna love her just as much as I do."

He could almost feel Sunny radiating even more warmth than usual as he finished speaking. Barely a second passed before she'd crept closer to continue her own affections to the eggs, and to speak as well.

"You really are. I don't know where we'd be right now if we'd ever been without our strong and fearless SeaWing. She's _always_ protected us...and now she's going to protect you!"

"And teach you all about the ocean and how to swim," Clay continued. "And what fish to eat! Mmmmmm."

"And how to be proper royal grandchildren," Sunny added in a pretend-haughty voice, lifting her chin toward the ceiling for a moment before she fell into a small fit of giggles.

Clay grinned. Sunny was the only other dragon who seemed to share the exact level of excitement that he and Tsunami had about their first eggs. Not that his other friends weren't happy for them, of course. But Sunny... The MudWing lifted his gaze to the colorful cave walls around them, adorned with beautifully painted scrolls - art gifts from the students of the academy and anyone else who'd decided to join in with Sunny's decorating plans for the new hatchery. She'd wasted no time on fixing up a cave just for the occasion as soon as she'd found out that her friends were with egg.

It was perfect, too. Rich and warm, with all the artwork and fire-lit glass globes strung from the ceiling, just like the ones Sunny had used for other parts of the academy. She'd picked a slightly softer palette for the hatchery, of pastel yellows and sky blues, which set a perfect scene of serenity and fun to accompany newly-hatched dragonets. Everything had been so thoughtfully woven together, even down to the cushy seaweed-and-mud bed that the eggs would be safely tucked in for the rest of the year.

"Hey," Clay suddenly interrupted, affectionately poking his friend with his tail. "Thanks again."

Sunny blinked. "For what?"

"For all this," the MudWing gestured out to their surroundings with big, brown eyes full of admiration, to which Sunny couldn't help but stifle another giggle at.

"You've thanked me enough, silly!" she said.

"I know," Clay sighed. "But Tsunami and I are really, really lucky to have somewhere this great for the eggs, and it's all because of you."

The SandWing shook her head a bit, but couldn't even try to hide her bashful grin. "Fatespeaker helped me a lot, and I only painted a few of the scrolls myself. _I'm_ lucky to have such great dragons around who want to do nice things for each other. And we're all _super_ lucky that those are the kinds of dragons these three will be growing up with. Dragons who want peace, and friendship."

"Yeah," he breathed with relief at the truth behind his friend's words. For just a moment, his mind drifted back to all the dragons he and his friends had encountered throughout their lives, and how few of them actually met that criteria. The war had changed a lot of dragons for worse, but the Jade Academy had truly proven itself in revealing so many others who longed to help turn things back around.

After a short moment of silence, Sunny interrupted his thoughts. "Maybe this is more of a personal thing, but...I'm so happy that I'm not going to be the only hybrid dragon anymore. I'm so glad that our students are going to have you, and Tsunami, and your dragonets as an example of true love that transcends our tribal differences. It's so...nice. And it makes me feel like a part of something beautiful." She paused. "I can't wait to see them."

Clay could only respond with a bright smile, before nudging her affectionately with his big head and then turning his attention back to the two-toned eggs that rested between them.

"Did you hear that?" he asked them. "You've already got something totally awesome in common with your Aunt Sunny."

Sunny laughed, unable to hide the darker notes of brown and orange that had already crept over her cheeks. She'd expressed her excitement about her new status as an aunt almost immediately after her friends had revealed the news, but Clay hadn't considered that one of her reasons for being so excited had something to do with their dragonets being hybrids like her. Now that he did consider it, it definitely made sense, and made him feel just as warm inside as if he had his very own SandWing scales. Sunny would be the best aunt ever, without a doubt.

"Hey, you," called Tsunami's voice suddenly. Clay and Sunny looked up to meet her gaze as she trotted into the hatchery cave and straight over to the seaweed-and-mud nest, gently nudging Clay under the chin and then dipping her snout to share the affection with the three eggs. After her friends had both returned her greeting, she mused aloud to her mate. "How long have you been here today? You know they don't need constant supervision. You can go do other things. They'll be fine."

"NO! Never!" the MudWing replied fiercely, and before he knew it himself, he was pulling one of their eggs even closer into a protective hug. "I'm never leaving them."

He knew that his reaction could be at least partially attributed to the fact of his own parents, and MudWing parents in general not exactly being the most loving among the dragon tribes. And while nearly every other MudWing he'd met so far continued to treat that custom with seemingly instinctive understanding, Clay had never been one of them. He'd always wished just as hard and daydreamed just as often as the rest of his friends about one day finding his lost parents and being part of a family.

As it turned out, he'd found two families - one with his biological siblings of the Mud Kingdom, and one he'd soon realized he'd had all along, with the four other dragons of the prophecy.

And now, he had a third, with Tsunami and their coming dragonets, and there was something about that that squeezed his heart like nothing else ever had before. He was, at least for the time being, not at all interested in being away from the eggs when he'd only just gotten them.

Tsunami grinned at him, and gave an amused snort. "Well, what are you going to do about eating, then?"

"Uhhhh," Clay turned his head to look down at his own belly, and right on cue, a familiar growl of hunger rumbled from the depths of it. Had he really forgotten to eat? Sheesh. It was sort of weird getting used to this level of distraction hitting him outside of breeding night.

"I can get you some food!" offered Sunny cheerfully, getting to her feet with the words.

"Ugh, no!" the SeaWing answered with a playful eye-roll and shake of her head. She leaned forward to nudge her mate again, in a more encouraging kind of way. "C'mon, Clay. Go get something good to eat. I'll stay and watch them until you get back."

He beamed. "You will!?"

"Yes," she promised.

"...Alright," he agreed shortly, hunger influencing him a lot more now that it was fresh in his mind. And if Tsunami was going to stay with the eggs while he was gone, he felt much better about leaving them, even if he knew he could always trust Sunny to watch them as well. He carefully stood up from the seaweed-and-mud bed and stepped over the eggs, taking a prance toward the hatchery exitway, before he suddenly skidded to a halt and swerved back around to nuzzle the eggs goodbye. He assured them, "Don't worry, little ones. I won't be long."

Sunny settled back down with a giggle as he turned again to rush out of the hatchery and to the prey hall. Tsunami only huffed a short sigh of relief, but couldn't stop herself from smiling as well. She turned her attention back to Sunny and the eggs. A short pause followed, which ended with the sea dragon catching her friend's green-eyed gaze.

"Already talking to them?" she asked, with hints of amusement in her voice.

"Of course we are," the golden one replied rather matter-of-factly. "Even if they're too young to know what we're saying, they'll definitely know we're talking to them, and our voices will make them feel safe."

Tsunami said, "If they can hear you."

"They can." Sunny confidently remarked.

"Maybe," answered the SeaWing, tucking her chin slightly as she glanced down to her unhatched dragonets. A tiny ghost of hope twinkled in her deep, ocean eyes for the briefest of seconds. Sunny smiled.

She reached out to pat the free spot next to her that Clay had left in the seaweed-and-mud bed, inviting Tsunami to join in on the egg cuddles. But Tsunami only blinked, and a hint of darker blue graced her cheeks.

"Er, I'm fine," she said, almost a bit awkwardly. She did, however, return the smile.

So far, even if it had only been about a week since she'd laid them, Tsunami hadn't spent nearly as much time with her eggs as Clay or Sunny had, and continued to insist that they would be fine left alone in the hatchery. It was a _bit_ odd to Sunny, but clearly completely expected to the mother, which made Sunny wonder if it was a SeaWing nesting instinct of some kind. She made a mental note to ask Starflight about that later.

In the meantime, she crinkled her snout a bit, feeling her own curiosity getting the better of her. Sunny was pretty sure Clay had barely been able to think about anything else since the eggs had arrived. Maybe Tsunami wasn't dedicating as much of her time to watching the eggs like he was, but surely she'd been _thinking_ about them just as often.

"Alright," Sunny shrugged, trying to seem indifferent. Her gaze wandered for a few seconds, and then she cautiously asked, "So...have you thought of any names yet?"

Tsunami quickly shook her head. "Oh, no. That's going to have to wait. I'd have to see them first, you know?"

Sunny blinked, a bit surprised by the answer. But again, there was nothing in her friend's tone that implied any sort of hesitation or doubt in the way she was doing things.

"Gosh, I don't think I'd be able to wait that long. I'd probably have a whole _list_ of names by now," she voiced her thoughts openly. Beetle, her mother's nickname for her, flashed in her mind, along with the memory of Thorn identifying it as one of the possible names she'd had for her while she'd still been an egg.

 _Possible names..._

Had Thorn had a whole list of names for her as well? She liked the thought of her mother sharing the same sentiments about naming her dragonets, even if it was pretty unlikely that Sunny would be having any of her own. Unless there was some kind of magic that allowed two female dragons to have eggs together. But even then, messing around with magic wasn't exactly something Sunny had ever felt all too comfortable with.

Tsunami interrupted her thoughts with a short laugh and a shrug of her wings.

"I'm sure when I see them, it'll hit me like lightning or something. But until then," she echoed her mate's words. "They're the little ones."

Sunny wasn't quite sure what it was, but something about hearing that phrasing from both of them nearly melted her heart on the spot, and at least for now, erased all other burning questions from her mind. She couldn't have stopped the new grin from spreading across her face if she'd tried.

"The little ones," she repeated.

* * *

 **Notes :**

 **So first things first. I'm a college kid and probably won't be updating this series as frequently as I'd like to. I mostly decided to start it up as a special interest outlet and to practice writing things other than shipfics. Chapters will be short and sweet and focused on the little ones (who will be properly introduced in the next one).**

 **I'm also aware ClayNami isn't a very popular ship, sooooo...if you're going to give me constructive criticism (which I welcome), please try to keep it objective. I'm not here to fight over ships (just ship them ALL, I say!).**

 **Happy reading!**


	2. Hatching Day

Tiny roars and fierce, squeaky chirps broke through the air around the five dragons who had been crowded in the Jade Mountain hatchery for what seemed like hours now. As the first of the three eggs finally cracked open, a chorus of gasps and a few other sounds of enthrallment followed, nearly in unison. And then the first little head was free.

"SHE'S OUT, SHE'S OUT!" cried a bouncing, bubbly NightWing. Fatespeaker shrieked loudly, "AAAAAAAA-"

Her unfiltered excitement was cut short by a soft jab from her mate's tail. She blinked in surprise, and looked to Starflight, who had his talons pressed against his ears. Upon her silence, he sighed with relief and lowered them back down to the floor of the cave.

"Oh! Sorry," she quickly said. She nudged him back and then cleared her throat before lowering her voice to a near whisper, trying again. " _Aaaaaaa!"_

Sunny glanced to Starflight, who was shaking his head affectionately. Fatespeaker always seemed to forget how sensitive Starflight's hearing had gotten since losing his sight. Starflight usually tried his best to be patient with her about that, though, which never failed to warm Sunny up with inner smiles.

"How do you know she's a she?" she quietly asked.

Fatespeaker beamed. "I've known that for months," she answered proudly. "I had a vision!"

"Oh." Sunny blinked.

She turned her attention back to the hatching of Clay and Tsunami's first dragonet, realizing that both parents had ignored the entirety of Fatespeaker's antics.

"C'mon, you can do it! You're almost there," Clay encouraged softly.

The tip of Tsunami's tail twitched with anticipation as she kept her wide gaze fixed on the little dragonet that was ripping her way out of her sea-and-mud colored egg. All five adult dragons fell silent again, all focus returned to the beautiful moment they'd been waiting for. With a burst of strength, the first dragonet tore through the rest of her egg, scattering bits and pieces of shell all around her. She chirped, and stumbled forward, instinctively unfurling her little wings to catch her balance.

At the full sight of the newly hatched dragonet, Sunny felt her breath catch in the back of her throat, and she could've almost sworn she heard the same reaction from Clay, and maybe even Tsunami.

Once the tiny hybrid steadied herself, she shook her blue-and-brown scales out, and turned her blinking eyes to the remaining two eggs. Then suddenly, she erupted with another squeaky roar and leapt at them. The adult dragons watched (and listened) in awe as the dragonet proceeded to claw and bite at her siblings' eggs, all the while still roaring and chirping, almost ferociously, as she used every bit of her own strength to crack and tear open the shells that held them prisoner.

Sunny stared, captivated, but glanced up when she noticed movement in the corner of her eye. It was Tsunami, who had shifted to twine her tail with Clay's. The sand dragon smiled. All of them had learned years ago that what they were currently seeing unfold was nothing more than a fierce display of MudWing hatching instincts. The new dragonet was trying to free her siblings. Clay had done the same to their eggs when he'd first hatched, but their guardians hadn't had any knowledge of MudWing hatchings at all, and had instead assumed he'd been attacking them. Which couldn't have been further from the truth.

Soon, two more chirping voices chimed in with the first dragonet's, and it wasn't long after that that all three eggs had become splinters of shell that littered their nest. Starflight's ear twitched as he finished taking in the last sounds of the hatching.

"So she's a bigwings," he commented with a tone of intrigue.

"Clearly," answered Tsunami through a loving laugh as her second and third-hatched dragonets toppled over one another in their bed, trying to keep as close to their firsthatched sister as possible. They took turns squeaking and bumping each other's snouts together.

"They're so CUTE!" Fatespeaker cried. "I wanna hold them! When can we hold them!?"

Fatespeaker definitely wasn't the only one dying to know the answer to _that_ question, but Sunny was also determined to wait until Clay and Tsunami had some time to get to know their new dragonets first, now that the hatching was over. And almost as if he'd read her mind, Clay then took a step closer to the seaweed-and-mud bed and gingerly stepped onto it. He settled down across from his three new dragonets with a smile.

"Hey there," he greeted them.

The dragonets stopped their snout-booping game and turned to look at their father, blinking curiously. The second and third-hatched looked back at one another, and then to their bigwings, who met their tentative gazes. As she looked up to Clay again, she took a step forward and moved protectively in front of them.

Clay eyed them thoughtfully. "Hmmmmm." He hesitated another moment before he lowered his head, resting it on the mud and seaweed below him.

"What are they doing?" Starflight asked with a furrowed brow.

Sunny's eyes rounded, and she stifled a giggle. "I think they're just...being MudWings."

"MudWings?" Starflight asked her.

"You know - sticking to each other like tree sap, being adorably protective, typical MudWing sibling stuff," she shrugged, then turned her head to give Clay an encouraging smile. "Why don't you try talking to them more? They'll recognize your voice. I'm sure of it!"

Clay beamed back. "Oh, yeah!" He lifted his head up from the bed and looked to the dragonets again. "Aw, c'mon. You guys know me! I've been sitting with you, and cuddling you, and talking to you. Every day. Ever since your mother laid your eggs." He paused. "Which was a long time ago, but it sort of also feels like yesterday? Because time is weeeeird."

The bigwings blinked her eyes wide and twitched one of her ears before tilting her head at him slightly. She took a second to look back at her smaller siblings, who were also staring at their father with seemingly intrigued expressions. One of the smaller dragonets met his bigwings' gaze immediately, and inched a bit closer to her; the smallest stayed where she was, eyeing her father. Another moment's hesitation followed, until she suddenly let out a surprisingly bold chirp and hopped forward, unfurling her wings and startling her bigger siblings.

Clay grinned and giggled under his breath. "What is it? Don't you wanna come over here?" He patted the muddy seaweed in front of him.

At his response, the tiny brown dragonet faltered slightly, staring up at him. She then glanced behind at her bigwings and bigger brother, and back to Clay again. The look on the bigwings' face said clearly: "you're supposed to be behind me!" but she didn't do anything to amend the situation. Instead, she too looked up at her father, and let out a squeak.

The three dragonets suddenly scrambled forward to Clay, and immediately proceeded with curious snout-poking and excited chirping as they clambered around and on top of him. Sunny squealed with laughter, nearly jumping for joy where she stood, and Fatespeaker let out another muffled shriek, talons over her mouth this time to ensure that she wouldn't be too loud again.

"Aah! Hello! Hey! That tickles!" Clay laughed as tiny claws scratched lightly against his scales, but he was far too ecstatic to do anything but continue giggling and returning the nuzzles he received.

Tsunami watched her family with a look of both fierce adoration and longing. Sunny knew it was taking the combined strength of every fiber of the SeaWing mother's being to stay patient while her dragonets learned that meeting adult dragons wasn't anything to be nervous about. Especially if the little ones had inherited any instincts that might stifle parental trust, this would be an essential experience for them; and there was no question that Clay was the best dragon to go first. The SandWing hybrid couldn't help herself but to lean a bit closer to Tsunami and twine her tail around hers. She was already such a good mother, just like Sunny knew she would be.

Once the dragonets had satisfied their curiosity, two of them settled comfortably in the curves of their father's arms, while the third nestled in the space between his wings and lower neck. Sunny giggled a bit as Clay did his very best to stay as perfectly still as he could now that his little ones were content (and at least one of them was in somewhat of an awkward spot). Clay, of course, didn't mind at all.

The MudWing soon met his mate's gaze with a silent invitation to join them, and Tsunami didn't hesitate to oblige. Clay spoke up again as she lay down beside him and the three dragonets began shifting around to peek at her with large, inquisitive eyes.

"This is your mother - Tsunami," he told them. "Do you remember? Sunny and I told you a lot of things about her, all the time."

Tsunami flashed a loving smile to Clay at the words before she directed her attention to her new dragonets. And in a voice just as soft and sweet as honeysuckles, one that Sunny was almost positive none of them had _ever_ heard her use before, she greeted them.

"Hello, my little ones," she said. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

The three only held their stares at her for a long moment, until the smallest of them began clambering up from her spot between her father's wings. Clay lowered himself a bit to make it easier for her to get to the top of his large head. Once she'd made it, the tiny dragonet opened her brown wings and gave a squeak so forceful that it caused her to sneeze, which in turn sent her tumbling over her perch and down to the bed below her.

Or, _would_ have sent her down to the bed below, had her mother not jumped so fast to reach out and break the fall. With the dragonet now right in her talons, Tsunami released a short breath of relief. She then pulled her arms in close again and ever so gingerly cupped the tiny hybrid against her.

"Careful," she warned her.

The baby dragon cooed and chirped in response, quickly reorienting herself and cuddling into the soft, smooth underscales of her SeaWing mother.

"She's a feisty one!" said Fatespeaker, grinning.

Tsunami laughed and looked down at her daughter lovingly. It didn't take the two other dragonets very long after to give in to their own curiosity and scuttle over to join their smaller sister. And soon, Tsunami had all three of her babies wrapped warmly in her wings, radiating a joy that caused Sunny's heart to skip a beat.

Though she noticed the subtle flick of Starflight's ear, Sunny had almost forgotten all about the fact that they'd been expecting a fourth visitor, which made the surprise of a certain RainWings's voice chiming in from behind them all the more pleasant.

"Sorry I'm late," Glory announced her entrance smoothly. "Duty calls."

"Glory!" Clay and Sunny exclaimed nearly in unison. Clay immediately sat up, beaming delight as Sunny whirled around to greet her. Tsunami glanced back from her spot to flash a cheeky grin their new guest's way.

"Well, it's about time," she said. "I didn't think you were going to show up."

"Sunny convinced me," teased the queen, winking at her golden-scaled friend. Sunny stifled a giggle. She knew very well that very few things would have stopped Glory from coming to see her friends' new dragonets, late or not.

Glory stepped in closer to join everyone, brushing Starflight's wingtip lightly with her own before she looked down at Tsunami and the little ones who were now snuggled happily beside her. Tsunami moved her wing to allow a better view.

"Gosh. They're pretty, aren't they?" she said, meeting both Clay and Tsunami's gazes before she continued. "Congratulations, you two."

"Thanks," Clay bashfully answered.

Tsunami nodded. "They really are," she said. "But I haven't had a single name hit me yet... Darn it."

Suddenly, Starflight perked up. "Names? I'm pretty sure I have some scrolls that might be useful for that. If you don't have any ideas, that is."

"Name scrolls?" Sunny asked, blinking curiously.

"Well - not exactly," he cleared his throat. "They're... I know they'll be good. Trust me. I'll go get them. Someone should check on Webs, anyway."

Fatespeaker faithfully hopped to her feet. "Count me in!"

"We'll be back soon," Starflight said. He flicked his tail at the other NightWing, and the two of them headed out into the tunnel that led back to the library.

Webs hadn't exactly volunteered to keep an eye on a few extra things while all of them were patiently waiting to meet Tsunami and Clay's new dragonets. He'd just had no choice, as none of them actually cared if he liked it or not. Except Sunny, who had at least politely informed him that they would probably be gone for a few hours. Starflight had temporarily closed the library, but with Tsunami, Clay, and Sunny gone as well, the rest of the academy would need some extra sets of talons for a while.

Of course, the hope was that nothing much could possibly go wrong in such a short timeframe, and everything would be back to normal soon enough.

Tsunami snorted indignantly once the two black dragons disappeared around the corner. "I don't need _scrolls_ to name my dragonets," she grumbled.

Her mate blinked at her. "Didn't you just say you hadn't thought of any?"

"Well, _yes,_ but," she said with a sigh. "My point still stands."

Glory rolled her eyes. Sunny hesitated.

"I mean, Starflight _does_ know his scrolls," she defended. "Maybe you should wait and see what he has in mind. You and Clay will still be making the final decisions, after all."

The SeaWing gave a somewhat dismissive "hm" in response and turned her attention back to her babies, who were still keeping close to her. The bigwings and her smaller sister now rolled around in the muddy seaweed together, occasionally tackling one another, while their brother stayed cuddled against his mother's side, following their movements with large eyes.

When Starflight and Fatespeaker soon returned with a small handful of scrolls, both practically glowing with enthusiasm over whatever they'd found, Sunny was very pleased to see Tsunami soften up almost instantly. Her friends were excited to be helping her, and even she probably had to admit that it was pretty adorable.

"We found the perfect scrolls for you, Tsunami! You're gonna love this," Starflight said as he hurriedly felt around for the one he wanted to share with her first. He was stopped short as Fatespeaker handed it to him. "Ah!" he grinned.

He stepped in closer and offered the scroll to her as everyone else waited for him to explain further. Hesitantly, Tsunami took the scroll from him and started to open it up.

For a brief few seconds, the excited librarian stayed quiet, giving his friend time to open it completely. Then he blurted, "Do you remember it!? It's that SeaWing glossary of marine rocks and landforms! We had a copy of it back under the mountain. You liked it a lot, because-well, you liked every scroll we had about the ocean." He paused again. "Remember?"

"Awwww!" Sunny couldn't have stopped herself if she'd tried. "Starflight! That's so sweet!"

He tucked his head down slightly, hiding a blush. Tsunami only stared at the open scroll in her talons, blinking once. A short moment later, she looked up at Starflight, even though he couldn't see her; Sunny saw a small twitch in the corners of her mouth, as if she were trying very hard to stop herself from smiling too big.

"I _do_ remember," she said softly. "...Thank you."

The twinkle that flashed in her green eyes as she took her gaze back to the scroll said more than she'd admit with words.

"I remember that one, too!" said Clay.

"Score!" Fatespeaker whispered to Starflight, a little too loudly. He stifled a laugh.

Glory leaned in a bit to look over Tsunami's shoulder at the scroll. "That's pretty clever, honestly," she said. "You might actually find some names in here that would suit a SeaWing-MudWing hybrid perfectly."

"That's the idea," Starflight agreed with a nod.

It wasn't long at all before the four friends were all huddled together around Clay and Tsunami as they read through the glossary, trying out various names, but not without patience, as naming dragonets proved to be quite a delicate process. And it wasn't helping much that the little ones really didn't strongly favor one tribe over the other in appearance. Not that this was a problem. Sunny, for one, thought it was lovely.

She'd taken to admiring the little hybrids again while her friends discussed the names, and had even peaked a bit of intrigue among them when they noticed her watching. Happily, she waved a talon to them, and giggled at how hesitant, yet just as tempted they were to approach her.

Sunny honestly had never seen a pattern of scales quite like the one that graced the little bigwings. It was as if she were covered from head to claw in alternating freckles of sapphire oceans and tawny dust. From the looks of things, she was the only dragonet that didn't have her mother's glow-in-the-dark stripes, but she was already so dazzling without them, it was hard to imagine her any other way. She also lacked webbed claws, as far as Sunny could tell, but she was not without gills.

Her smaller brother, rather than being dappled all over with bits of earth and sea, was nearly the same shade of blue as his mother, overlaying a lighter emerald green that blended into a subtle gradient. Hints of mahogany brown caressed his spines and claws and wingtips. He too had inherited SeaWing gills along his neck, and complimentary webs between his claws.

Out of the three, the smallest dragonet looked the most like her father. Despite her size, she was built stockier than her siblings, and there was no mistaking a MudWing's head. She was also, like her father, very brown. But interestingly enough, her glow-in-the-dark SeaWing stripes were visibly outlined with pale traces of turquoise blue. The same shade colored the webs between her claws, though she hadn't the gills to match. She was beautiful, nonetheless, in a way that Sunny understood all too well.

"What do you think of Skerry?" Tsunami asked, looking to Clay as if she wasn't quite sold on it, herself. But the suggestion silenced everyone for a brief moment. She continued with a nod and a glance down to her biggest dragonet. "For our little-bigwings."

"Oooooooh!" Fatespeaker said. "Cute!"

Clay followed his mate's gaze, staring down at his daughter. A few seconds then brought a warm smile widening across his face. "I like it," he answered, solidly.

"Is it because she's going to be, terrifyingly 'scary', like her mother?" Glory teased.

Tsunami shot her a sideways look. "Ha ha," she replied.

The RainWing stifled a snort, blinking innocently.

"Wait," Starflight started. "Are you thinking of the reef or the sandstone? Because..."

"Either," Tsunami shrugged. "I just like the way it sounds. It has a nice ring to it."

Her friend hesitated, fidgeting a bit as if there was more he wanted to elaborate on, but in the end, he only said, "Ah, okay," and gave a nod. "Good."

"And if we both like it," the mother dragon continued, pausing to nose Clay with her snout. "Then I think it's settled. And her _Aunt Glory_ better not make stupid puns on her name all the time, if she knows what's good for her."

Ignoring her, Glory mused in a pretend-serious tone, "I think I'd prefer to be called _Auntie_ Glory."

Sunny buried a giggle, which earned her a quick, pleased smile from the queen, and Sunny could've sworn she saw a tiny flutter of pink in her wingtips. She wondered whether it had been a reaction to making her friend laugh or being called an aunt, settling on the thought that either case was equally as endearing.

"SHALE!" Clay suddenly exclaimed, giving nearly everyone a start. He turned to Starflight. "Isn't that a kind of mud!?"

"Oh! Um, well, sort of?" answered the NightWing. "I suppose a glossary wouldn't go into _all_ the details. Technically, it's the result of the lithification of unconsolidated mud particles."

"I don't think any of us know what that means," Tsunami said bluntly.

"It's a rock made of mud," he amended. "And, they're pretty common on the deep-sea floor. And in swamps." Then he smiled, "I do like that."

Clay beamed. "I like it too. I like it a lot." He turned to nudge Tsunami gently with his big head, in the same way she had nosed him earlier. "Tsunami, we _have_ to use it!"

Tsunami laughed. "Alright, alright. I'll let you pick who our Shale is, then."

A determined twinkle flashed in the MudWing's eye before he turned his attention down to his dragonets. His smaller daughter was already gazing up at him, the tip of her tail twitching a bit, almost as if she understood exactly what was going on. Clay blinked, unable to look away from her now.

"Oh my," he said. "I think she's just picked herself."

"Well, she _does_ look a lot like you," Sunny said, poking Clay with her tail.

He poked Sunny back, then looked to his mate, who yawned and sighed contentedly.

"Skerry and Shale," Tsunami repeated the names, pleased.

"Perfectly totally adorable!" Fatespeaker chimed in.

"Very fitting," Glory agreed with a nod.

The sea dragon then took her gaze down to their only remaining unnamed dragonet, curling her wing over him in a way that Sunny thought looked very motherly. "Now, what about him?"

The male dragonet hadn't moved from Tsunami's side since he'd found it. But, neither had he taken his eyes off his sisters as they played and chirped at one another. A few times, he had gotten stuck glancing back and forth between the three of them, as if he couldn't decide what he wanted to do. Sunny knew too well, of course, how very few things came close to the comforting warmth of a mother's scales, whether they radiated the heat of the desert or not. She wondered if perhaps this dragonet _was_ a bit more SeaWing than the other two, if they were right in assuming that the level of parental attachment was at all indicative of that.

"Oh! Oh! I'm having a vision!" Fatespeaker suddenly began again. "His name will be..." she paused, dramatically. "Estuary!"

For a moment, everyone was silent, staring at the NightWing, who now gazed intently upwards through slitted eyes, talons outstretched as if the universe had just bestowed them with all the wisdom they would ever need.

"That," Tsunami said shortly. "is _not_ my son's name."

Fatespeaker instantly broke out of her climactic pose. "Aw drat! I was sure you'd like that one, too. Hmmmmmm." She put on a face that indicated she was very deep in thought, completely ignoring Starflight, who was shaking his head at her. "Okay. How about...Muck!"

"Muck?" asked Sunny, wrinkling her snout.

"How about no," Tsunami answered.

The black-and-purple dragon gave them both slightly wounded looks, then snatched up one of the scrolls for help. "Tombolo!? ...You could call him Tom for short! That's pretty cute!"

Glory snorted loudly. Tsunami didn't look amused.

"I don't think Tom is a real name," Starflight said. He took a step closer to his mate, gently ushering her to put down the scroll. She glanced at him and quickly slipped away.

"Spit!" she exclaimed next.

Glory nearly laughed aloud. Tsunami stifled a growl of annoyance. Clay moved to nose her lightly with his snout before he got to his talons and turned to Fatespeaker with a polite smile.

"Thank you, Fatespeaker," he said. "We really appreciate your help, but..."

"Karst?" she tried one more, a little tentatively, as she met the MudWing's eyes.

"I..." Clay trailed off, then stopped to tilt his head. "Hmm. Actually. That one's alright." He blinked and looked to Tsunami. "Don't you think?"

Fatespeaker beamed. Tsunami looked as though she wanted to scowl at him, but quickly faltered, and couldn't help glancing down to her little tri-colored dragonet, who had taken to eyeing them curiously.

"I don't know, I kind of like Spit," said Glory.

"Oh, hush, you!" Tsunami snapped at her. After shooting the RainWing a glare, she turned her attention to her son again, and softened. Sunny could tell that even if she didn't particularly want to admit it, she was still considering Fatespeaker's last suggestion. And it was growing on her.

Sunny hesitated, then offered, "I think Karst is nice. It suits him."

Almost immediately, Tsunami met her eyes in silent agreement. A few more seconds brought her looking to Starflight.

"What does it mean?" she asked him.

He opened his mouth to speak, then stopped, and instead nudged his head in Fatespeaker's direction. The other NightWing flashed a very pleased grin back at him. She cleared her throat and began to read from the scroll that was still in her talons, sounding almost as if she were trying to mimic the matter-of-fact way in which her mate always relayed information to them.

"Karst terrain," she said. "is a type of landscape that is formed when evaporites and carbonates, such as rock salt or limestone, are dissolved by rainwater. It is characterized by the presence of features such as caves, sinkholes, and underground rivers."

Starflight nodded smartly once she'd finished. "It's not _exactly_ relatable to SeaWings or MudWings, but it could easily fit into a nice grey area. Much like Skerry."

"Which is kind of the point, right?" added Glory.

Clay nodded, smiling. They were all waiting for Tsunami's approval now. And though she looked much less conflicted than she had a moment earlier, she still hesitated, looking thoughtfully down at her son, and then to her other two dragonets.

"Skerry, Karst, and Shale," she tried the three names together.

Sunny kind of loved the fact that Tsunami had so quickly taken to letting her friends, and their scrolls, help her decide what to call her little ones in the end, despite her initial displeasure at the thought. It was especially nice to see that she really had gotten better at not letting her stubbornness get the best of her _all_ the time.

"Well," Tsunami continued, sitting up a bit. "It sounds like we're done, then." She smiled. "I accept these names, and I now officially apply them. I _hope_ you're all happy with _my_ decision."

Of course, that would never stop her from _pretending_ that she might not be fully satisfied without certain things resting in her own talons.

But they all knew better.

"YES!" Fatespeaker exclaimed triumphantly.

"Oh good," Clay sighed with genuine relief. "I've already started calling them by their names in my head, so it'd be kind of awkward to start all over with different ones."

Sunny giggled.

"This is true," said Starflight. "Anyway, congratulations to both of you, aaand I've gotta get back to the library."

"Awwwww!" his mate announced her displeasure immediately. "Already!? You don't want to stay and play with the babies?"

He shrugged before starting to feel around for the scrolls they'd brought. "I'll be back. It's not like they're going anywhere. And I can think of at least a few _other_ dragonets who are probably just pacing the halls now, waiting for me to return."

"Just like you would be?" Glory asked.

Starflight hid his smile, but it was all too obvious how above and beyond he always went for the students that loved learning as much as he did.

"Alright," said Clay with a nod. "Whenever you get more time, then, come back here and we'll introduce you properly. Or, maybe we could just bring them to the library!"

Tsunami quickly replied, "That might have to wait a bit. I'd like to make sure they're ready to be bumping into new dragons left and right."

"Oh, me too," Clay agreed. "I think they'll be ready pretty soon, though. Dragonets do grow fast."

"Don't remind me," she sighed, watching as the MudWing lowered his head down to nuzzle Skerry and Shale, who then scrambled to use his legs as hiding spots for the game of tag they seemed to be playing together. Karst made a move to join them, but stopped suddenly, and looked up to his mother. Tsunami laughed and said, "Well, go on then."

The little dragonet gave a chirp and happily pranced over to his father and sisters.

It was Sunny's turn to laugh. "Uh-oh! Now you can't move, or else you'll ruin their fun."

Clay smiled and shrugged, as if he wouldn't have dreamt of ruining their fun anyway.

Tsunami turned to Glory. "What will you do, then?"

Glory shifted, side-glancing away and ruffling her wings a bit before she answered. "I think I'll stay here for the night, but I'll have to leave at dawn. I've got Grandeur overseeing the Rainforest...with Deathbringer and Jambu helping." She rolled her eyes. "Can't imagine how that's going."

"What do you mean?" Clay asked.

She met his eyes briefly, then shook her head. "Nothing. I just hope that particular combination of dragons isn't turning out to be more counterproductive than I'd realized before I left them to it. But I'm probably just overthinking things."

"I'm sure it's going just fine," Sunny assured her. "And you'll be back tomorrow. So for today, be with us."

Glory softened as the little gold dragon reached out to lightly brush a wing against hers.

Starflight and Fatespeaker soon went back to the library together, leaving only the four of them to continue watching Skerry, Karst, and Shale. Sunny would have to return to her academy duties for the rest of the day as well, as much as she didn't want to. She still hadn't really introduced herself to her little nieces and nephew properly. But she knew that there would be time for that later in the evening.

For now at least, they were far too engrossed in post-hatching excitement and figuring out how exactly to interpret their parents to pay much attention to anything else. Not that Sunny minded, of course, as it was kind of the most adorable thing she'd ever seen.

She couldn't imagine how much more excitement they'd soon be having, growing up at the Jade Academy with the best parents ever, plenty of other dragons who couldn't wait to get to know them, and so many new things to learn.

* * *

 _ **Notes:**_

 **A few things worth mentioning, maybe -**

 **1) Sorry if it seems random at all that this chapter is from Sunny's perspective instead of Clay's or Tsunami's. I didn't want things getting too cheesy or something, and Sunny seemed like a good, neutral option. Or maybe I'm just an awkward writer, oh well.**

 **2) Obviously, this storyline is an AU. If anything is confusing or if you're curious about something that hasn't been addressed, feel free to just ask me about it, or fill in the blanks for yourself if you want...or just wait, and maybe I'll address it later. (Tho TBH I love talking...a lot...so if you're feelin' it...aEEY).**

 **3) While shipping is NOT the focus of this story, I'm still gonna put this out there - I ship a lot of weird, non-canon things because I'm gay and shipping is my life-fuel. Soooo if tiny bits of my tortured, hopeless, shipster soul ever shine thru here or there... OOPS.**

 **Alright, that's it.**

 **Happy reading!**


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